The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion is a document that was created for the express purpose of vilifying Jews and inciting violence against them. Drafted in 1897 by collaborative effort of the Russian Secret Police and the French Authorities, the Protocols has been published and re-published. It is estimated that close to 300 million copies have been printed and disseminated. The Protocols has been used by every significant antisemitic movement since they were drafted. The Protocols underpinned the ideology of Nazism, were used by the Russian Authorities to incite pogroms (waves of massacres of Jewish communities). Today the Protocols has been used extensively by the Arab world to justify the attempt to annihilate Israel, which is seen as synonymous with the collective Jew.

It is well known that the only purpose of producing and reproducing the Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion is to incite antisemitism. There have been a number of cases of reproductions of the Protocols in Australia since the turn of the century. Attempts to deal with the perpetrators – both the publishing organisation and the distributors – have been unsuccessful at this point of time. Given the reality of globalisation, the availability of the Protocols to Australian readers extends beyond the machinations of Australian antisemitic groups to international sources.

MOSQUE OPENING The Australian Intercultural Society is holding a Mosque Open Day at the Deer Park Mosque this Sunday 27 July from 1pm to 3pm. Come along, learn about another culture and support interfaith events. Click here for more details. AUGUST IS APPEAL MONTH Join our volunteers on the phones to get support for the work of the ADC. Click here to volunteer. LAUNCH OF AUS/MED - 'A bridge to nations through medicine', Australian Israel Medical Research Fund launch - Hadassah Australia, 29 July. Click here for more details.